The present invention is directed to the field of security gate control for commercial and residential gated communities, and more particularly to an automated security gate attendant for obtaining and storing information related to visitors and users of the security gate.
Gated communities and various businesses use human gate attendants to regulate traffic through a security gate. The attendant or guard typically queries a visitor through various questions as to the nature of the visit, the name of the host, and may even include a communication such as a telephone call to the host to determine the authenticity of the visit. Human gate attendants offer certain features over automated controllers such as judging suspicious persons, protecting against follow-up or tailgating entrants who enter the gate once it is opened for someone else, and adding a human element to the operation. However, there are several downsides to using a human guard to attend to a security gate. First, it is usually necessary for the gate to be operated twenty-four hours a day. Finding attentive guards who can watch the gate for long hours is difficult and expensive. Guards can fall asleep, take coffee or bathroom breaks, have medical problems, as well as many other situations that cause the attendant to leave his or her post. Human guards can also be persuaded to let in entrants who may not be welcome, either through guile or deception, bribery, and the like. Human attendants are also not the best at recording and retaining information, such as license plates, names, and the like. Thus, there are many shortcomings associated with having a human attendant for a security gate.
Present automated systems also have shortcomings that render this option unsatisfactory. There are numerous products on the Gated Community Access Control market that provide for some type of access control such as gate “call boxes” or “telephone entry systems.” These devices simply display the names and/or phone numbers of residents who live in the gated community and who may have control over actuating the gate. To successfully enter such a gated community, one would typically perform one or more of the following methods:
1. Use an access device such as a remote control, similar to a garage door remote. These remotes can be rolling code or dip switches. Rolling code remotes are secure in that they cannot be duplicated and their use can be controlled as to time of day and day of week. These remotes can also be tracked and deleted, whereas dip switch remotes cannot be tracked or deleted.
2. Use an access control device other than a remote control, such as an RFID or transponder, bar code, proximity cards, LPR (License Plate Recognition) to gain access. All of these devices except LPR are secure and cannot be duplicated.
3. Enter an access code using a key pad mounted on the call box. Multiple codes can be implemented with one or more restrictions based on the time of day or day of the week.
4. Use the call box to search for and call a resident who answers, and subsequently presses a key code on a touch tone phone pad that automatically opens the gate.
5. Tailgate behind another visitor as the gate opens and closes.
6. Push the gate open, using either manual force or using a vehicle.
7. Remove the gate arms or manually displace the gate arms to gain access.
Each of the methods above are prone to abuse, oftentimes necessitating a human guard. In particular, each of the options above allow for tailgaters to enter the premises, requiring a guard where security demands it. Automated systems that require an access code or telephone number be entered on a touchpad are of minimal value if the code or number is divulged to the wrong people. Automated systems typically have no means for taking information from the visitor which can be verified in the event of a breach in the security. If the security gate is breached by force, the breach may be undetected by an automated attendant. Other automated systems utilize proximity cards that are read by a reader to authenticate the visitor. Such systems allow information on the arrival and departure of the visitor, but such cards can be duplicated or manipulated, allowing unauthorized visitors to enter without detection. Thus, there is a need in the art for a system that recognizes the shortcomings of the above systems and seeks to overcome the shortcomings in an efficient, cost-effective manner.